Top News:
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Phillies Agree To Sign Cliff Lee — The wait is over. In a surprising development that leaves two top American League teams empty-handed, Cliff Lee has agreed to sign a five-year, $120MM deal with the Phillies. The contract includes a $27.5MM vesting option for 2016 with a $12.5MM buyout, plus partial no-trade clause.
Discussion:
YFSF, FanGraphs Baseball, baseballmusings.com, TYU, River Avenue Blues, Amazin' Avenue, Over the Monster, Yankeeist, Bronx Baseball Daily, sox1fan.com, Sabernomics, Full Count, HardballTalk, Rays Index, The Nats Blog, Red Sox Beacon, Red Sox Monster, Al's Ramblings, The Zo Zone, Halos Heaven, The iYankees Blog and DRaysBay
RELATED:
Trsullivan / Postcards from Elysian Fields:
Cliff Lee is going to Philadelphia Phillies — The Rangers were told Monday night that Lee is going to the Phillies, It is a done deal — YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! (RC)^2 (Ar See Squared) Roy-Roy-Cole-Cliff. The Phantastic Phour! YESSSSS!!!!!!
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, HardballTalk, TYU, The Zo Zone, The Sommer Frieze, NESN.com, BronxBanterBlog.com, Mets Merized Online, Yankeeist, Fox Sports, LA Times Sports Blog, Pinstripe Alley, The Good Phight, The LoHud Yankees Blog, Bronx Baseball Daily, Fanhouse MLB Blog, New York Post, MetsBlog.com, lenNY's Yankees, Sliding Into Home, Lookout Landing, Phillies Nation, The700Level.com and Baseball Time in Arlington
NY Daily News:
Martino: Lee might've been better taking the money — In signing with Phillies, Cliff Lee chases memory of World Series run, but he may regret decision — Tuesday, December 14th 2010, 4:00 AM — Cliff Lee returns to Philadelphia where he faces the Yankees in the 2009 World Series …
Discussion:
McCovey Chronicles, Crossing Broad and Texas Rangers
Dave Cameron / FanGraphs Baseball:
Best. Rotation. Ever? — After a six week dance with New York and Texas, Cliff Lee has apparently decided to spurn them both and sign with the [Mystery Team] Philadelphia Phillies. If the Jayson Werth deal was a shocker, this one breaks the Richter Scale.
Ted Berg / Tedquarters:
Hold it together — Fun fact: If you asked me yesterday …
Hold it together — Fun fact: If you asked me yesterday …
Discussion:
Patrick Flood, Mets Merized Online and MetsBlog.com
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Possible Fits For Joe Blanton
Possible Fits For Joe Blanton
Discussion:
Mike Silva's …, JSOnline and Royals Review
T.R. Sullivan / MLB.com:
Phillies swoop in and bring back Lee
Phillies swoop in and bring back Lee
Discussion:
The LoHud Yankees Blog, Dallas Morning News, Nationals Baseball, Fanhouse MLB Blog and Lone Star Ball
New York Times:
Cliff Lee Accepts Late Bid by the Phillies
Cliff Lee Accepts Late Bid by the Phillies
Discussion:
Bats, NY Daily News, HardballTalk, Associated Press, YFSF, BOSTON IRISH and BBTF's Baseball Primer …
Jayson Stark / ESPN:
Cliff Lee's return simply stunning
Cliff Lee's return simply stunning
Discussion:
Seamheads.com, Faith and Fear in Flushing, Batter's Box Interactive … and ESPN
New York Post:
Yankees left lacking after losing Lee again
Yankees left lacking after losing Lee again
Discussion:
Seattle Times, Mariners blog, ESPN, The Seattle Times, Yankeeist, Full Count, MLB.com, The Joy of Sox and NY Daily News
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Phillies, Red Sox Discussed Joe Blanton
Phillies, Red Sox Discussed Joe Blanton
Discussion:
Clubhouse Insider, Phillies Nation and Projo Sox Blog
Jerry Crasnick / ESPN.com:
Sources: Cliff Lee to return to Phillies
Sources: Cliff Lee to return to Phillies
Discussion:
New Jersey Online, Newsday, ESPN, ESPN, Pinstripe Alley, UmpBump.com, Subway Squawkers, OnTheBlack.com, The LoHud Yankees Blog, The House That Dewey Built, The Crawfish Boxes, It's About The Money, Lookout Landing, Pinstriped Bible …, Bats, NESN.com, River Avenue Blues, HardballTalk and MetsBlog.com
Matthew Pouliot / HardballTalk:
Let's not pencil the Phillies into the World Series just yet
Let's not pencil the Phillies into the World Series just yet
Discussion:
Optimistic Mets Fan
David Waldstein / New York Times:
Darek Braunecker, Agent for Cliff Lee, Is Getting Noticed
Darek Braunecker, Agent for Cliff Lee, Is Getting Noticed
Discussion:
New York Yankees Fan Blog and The Big Lead
USA Today:
Stunner: Cliff Lee headed back to Phillies
Stunner: Cliff Lee headed back to Phillies
Discussion:
New York Times, newyorkstateofsports.com, Babes Love Baseball and Phillies Nation
Tyler Kepner / New York Times:
Phillies Come Out of Nowhere in Winning Bid for Lee
Phillies Come Out of Nowhere in Winning Bid for Lee
Discussion:
HardballTalk
Marc Carig / New Jersey Online:
Yankees waiting after making first offer to Cliff Lee
Yankees waiting after making first offer to Cliff Lee
Discussion:
Bluebird Banter, Sports Illustrated, Bronx Baseball Daily and MLB Rumors
MLBReporters / MLB.com Hot Stove blog:
Yankees come to terms with Russell Martin — NEW YORK — The Yankees have agreed to terms on a contract with Russell Martin, multiple sources told MLB.com on Monday. Details of the deal, which is contingent on a physical and will not be made official until Martin does so, were not immediately available.
RELATED:
Alden Gonzalez / MLB.com:
Yankees agree to contract with Martin — NEW YORK — The Yankees have agreed to terms on a contract with free-agent catcher Russell Martin, multiple sources told MLB.com on Tuesday. Details of the deal were not immediately available, but it is expected to be announced at some point on Tuesday.
Nick Cafardo / Boston Globe:
Yankees take risk on Martin; Albers on Sox radar — The teams that were in on catcher Russell Martin certainly have some concern about the former All-Star's right hip, which suffered a fracture during last season. — The Red Sox are certainly aware of hip injuries after dealing with Mike Lowell's for a couple of years.
Discussion:
MLB Rumors, NESN.com, Over the Monster and Full Count
Aaron Gleeman / HardballTalk:
Yankees sign catcher Russell Martin to one-year contract — Moving on quickly after Cliff Lee turned them down, the Yankees “have agreed to terms on a contract with Russell Martin,” according to Alden Gonzalez of MLB.com. It's believed to be a one-year deal, although the Yankees …
Discussion:
BronxBanterBlog.com and baseballmusings.com
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Yankees Reach Agreement With Russell Martin — The Yankees have reached an agreement with catcher Russell Martin, reports MLB.com's Alden Gonzalez. With Jorge Posada moving into a designated hitter role next year, Martin should be the Yankees' starting catcher.
Discussion:
Pinstriped Bible … and Full Count
ESPN:
Source: Yanks to sign Russell Martin
Source: Yanks to sign Russell Martin
Discussion:
BronxBanterBlog.com, VIN SCULLY IS MY HOMEBOY and MLB
Tim Dierkes / MLB Rumors:
Pirates Moving Close To Agreement With Lyle Overbay — 11:44am: The Pirates are moving close to an agreement with Overbay, tweets Morosi. — 8:37am: The Pirates have been talking with free agent first baseman Lyle Overbay, tweets Jon Paul Morosi of FOX Sports. He says it's not clear whether they're making progress on a deal.
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports and Bucs Dugout
RELATED:
Jenifer Langosch / By Gosh, It's Langosch:
Pirates sign 1B Overbay
Pirates sign 1B Overbay
Discussion:
Raise the Jolly Roger, MLB Rumors and Bucs Dugout
Joe McDonald / ESPN:
Source: Kevin Gregg, Baltimore Orioles close; Boston Red Sox, Washington Nationals lingering — BOSTON — Right-handed reliever Kevin Gregg is close to signing a two-year deal with the Baltimore Orioles worth $12 million, according to a league source. — The Boston Red Sox and Washington Nationals …
Discussion:
Full Count, MLB Rumors, MLB Daily Dish, Purple Row, HardballTalk and Associated Press
MLB:
Oakland Athletics seal deal with new designated hitter Hideki Matsui — OAKLAND, Calif. — The Oakland Athletics have landed their new designated hitter. — The A's and free agent slugger Hideki Matsui finalized a one-year contract Tuesday after he passed a physical.
Discussion:
FanGraphs Baseball, Boston Herald, lenNY's Yankees and MLB Rumors
RELATED:
Joe Strauss / St. Louis Post-Dispatch:
Cards reach agreement with Laird as Molina's backup — The Cardinals have completed their 25-man puzzle by agreeing with free agent catcher Gerald Laird on a one-year contract, pending Laird passing a team physical. — Laird, 31, has appeared in eight major-league seasons and served …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports, FanGraphs Baseball and MLB Daily Dish
Ben Nicholson-Smith / MLB Rumors:
Yankees To Sign Mark Prior — It's not Cliff Lee, but the Yankees have added a big-name pitcher. The team agreed to sign Mark Prior to a minor league deal, according to ESPN.com's Jerry Crasnick (on Twitter). Prior will earn $750K in the major leagues and could earn $750K more in incentives …
Discussion:
Boston Globe, HardballTalk, Bronx Baseball Daily, Bleed Cubbie Blue and River Avenue Blues
Ken Gurnick / MLB.com:
Navarro officially joins Dodgers — Catcher returns to LA to compete for backup role — The Dodgers officially reacquired free-agent catcher Dioner Navarro when he passed his physical exam on Monday. — The former All-Star and former Dodger will compete with A.J. Ellis as backup …
Discussion:
Yahoo! Sports